Purchase from an Online store?

[maybeoneday]

Hi everyone, I'm about to purchase a Canon 100mm 2.8 IS. Have been calling various shops and also looking online and the prices have varied from $796 to $1,349.
The cheapest price happens to come from an Australian online store however I've been told that they are 'Grey imports' so they're not actually stock from Canon Australia. This means that the warranty is held with the online business and not Canon directly. Just wanted to find out whether anyone has used an online store? I like the idea of being able to go into a store if a have a problem, however the price difference for this luxury is $324! The cheapest price I could get instore was $1120. I do have a photographer friend that runs her own business and buys all her lenses and even bought her 5D MKII from this online store and says she doesn't have a problem with them. She's never had to call on the warranty though!
Would love some advice!

[I @ M]

Have a browse through the site using the search function and type in "grey import" and you will find quite few posts and recommendation on the subject.

There are many happy customers of offshore suppliers here using exactly that equipment and certainly there are very few complaints about pricing and service.

[maybeoneday]

Thanks for you help :)

[Mary Anne]

I buy all my lenses and gear on line now from the Sponsors here and never had any problems with them.
Click on the Sponsor Button up the top of the page and have a browse through, it helps AP with running costs if you buy from them there also.

[Starvin Marvin]

I was in a similar position when it came to purchasing my new Canon 5D mk 3 and I eventually decided to try grey import from a site sponsor. Now I doubt if I'll buy any other way!

[Wayne]

Warranty will almost certainly lie with Canon if you buy grey, but perhaps not Canon Australia. What that means is you may have to ship it back to the country of original distribution to claim warranty, and from HK, Korea et al, it would cost less than the $324 difference to buying locally, assuming you actually had to do it.

To add further, most grey importers with the big online stores know that fear of something going wrong and the no warranty bs often spruiked by local re-sellers causes people to suck it up and pay through the nose locally, so they will often has agreements with local camera repairers to service your item if you buy from them saving the headache, and winning the business.

You would have to be particularly unlucky to need warranty service, but what that risk is worth to you only you can decide.

[Gonk0]

Eglobal a site sponsor is very good to deal with, as Mary Anne said click the sponsor button up the top of the page and scroll down until you see them, and you can go from there.

There price on the Canon EF 100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM lens is $741 + delivery, if thats the lens you were looking at buying.

Hope this helps.

[ricktas]

Eglobal a site sponsor is very good to deal with, as Mary Anne said click the sponsor button up the top of the page and scroll down until you see them, and you can go from there.

There price on the Canon EF 100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM lens is $741 + delivery, if thats the lens you were looking at buying.

Hope this helps.


You dont need to click the sponsor button anymore. We made it easy. Just click the coloured word in a thread. like eGlobal and it will take you straight to their site

[Wayne]

eGlobal are good, fast delivery, good communication and service, however they just need to tweak their shipping prices a little as I have mentioned in another thread. They also have local service outlets should you need them for warranty.

[Gonk0]

You dont need to click the sponsor button anymore. We made it easy. Just click the coloured word in a thread. like eGblobal and it will take you straight to their site

Thanks for that Rick, I wasn't sure if the new keyword system worked like that or not, I would hate you to miss out on the commission if it didn't.

[Mark L]

Bought my camera from B&H and if I needed to send it back for some warranty problem (which is generally unlikely these days) they pay for postage.


...... Just click the coloured word in a thread. like eGblobal and it will take you straight to their site

only if it's zpelled rite. :)

[ricktas]

Bought my camera from B&H and if I needed to send it back for some warranty problem (which is generally unlikely these days) they pay for postage.



only if it's zpelled rite. :)

zpellink fuxed!

[rbat]

I've used an online store with no issues, have saved a lot of money.

[Cattleprod]

I buy all my stuff online, have bought 2 cameras and numerous lenses... Had an issue with one of the cameras, but it ended up getting replaced by the online seller. I wouldn't even enter a camera shop now, if I want to see how something works I will just have a search of youtube...

[maybeoneday]

Thanks for all your advice everyone. It is really appreciated. Have decided not to take the risk and purchase from an Australian Store. Have also now decided to probably go a completely different lens. Can't make my mind up!

[Bear Dale]

Online and grey imports for me always.

[maybeoneday]

Hi JimD, is there any online seller that you can recommend? Concerned about the whole warranty aspect I guess.

[Mark L]

I wouldn't worry to much about warranty. You'd be very unlucky to get a Canon lens that has a problem these days.
Do some research on that ebay thing. Check the larger sellers and their feed back, you get an idea of who does thing s OK. Then check if some of them match with the AP commission advertisers (bet a couple do..... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?13499-Ausphotography-Site-Advertisers) and click through AP so Rick gets a little back to help finance this place.
Also, a current discussion ..... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?116255-Question-about-eglobal
As previously stated, I was happy with price and service from B&H.

[Roosta]

I recently bit the bullet and purchased my 300 mm Canon lens via an OS grey importer, they have a store front in Sydney though, and no problems at all.

[dodgyexposure]

I bought the 100L grey. At the time, the price was 2/3 of the cheapest price I could find for Australian Stock. 50% premium is, I think, adequate to cover the warranty risk.

On the other hand, when I bought a Sigma 30mm f1.4, a lens with well-documented focussing issues, I bought from an Australian store, and checked the lens instore. The first copy I tried front-focussed significantly, so I could go to the next copy without the hassle of having to send a lens off to an overseas supplier (or local repairer). Different actions in different situations.

[extraball]

Bought my new lens from sponsor e-global. Process was really smooth, communication excellent, and a big saving on local retail pricing. I was able to track the parcel at nearly every stage of it's journey from Hong Kong. My only concern (and I have spoken to the seller via AP) is that, whilst the lens had a ton of bubblewrap around it, the lens box got pretty dented. Seems the process of handling goods in transit is anything but gentle.